Hints of the great battle taking place over the Channel
There had been little indication in the pages of the Observer, in late July and early August 1917, of the latest Allied offensive at Passchendaele.
There was, however, an editorial printed 100 years ago this week, in which the paper suggested that for the second time in nine months weather had saved the Germans from a defeat which would have altered the course of the war.
Continuous rain over France in October 1917 had halted Allied operations and similar weather conditions marred the start of the latest Anglo-French push in Flanders.
“Rainstorms blind both airmen and gunners,” said the Observer. “It may be wondered why our initial misfortune in this respect was not avoided by postponing the attack but the complex details of the great offensive have all to be settled weeks beforehand and a timetable fixed which cannot be altered.”
The paper felt two months of “good campaigning weather” was still available and were the thrust to be successful, it would force the Germans to surrender the Belgian coast and “shake their whole line” as far as Verdun.
“It would be a great stride forward to deprive the Huns of their submarine and air-raiding bases on the Belgian seaboard,” said the paper.
The Observer was of the view the latest battle was the most momentous of the war and spoke of the constant failure of German counter attacks.
“The Germans use picked troops for these always costly operations but they nearly always fail , and the picking-out process weakens the stamina of their general divisions,” added the paper.
“The Hun is still a stubborn fighter in defence but from his point of view, war without ‘offence’ is war without hope.”
The Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres) took place on the Western Front from July to November 1917, for control of the ridges south and east of the Belgian city of Ypres, West Flanders.
Many Scots regiments were involved in the fighting which took place in torrential rain which created mud that swallowed men, horses and tanks.
After just over three months of brutal trench warfare, the Allies finally recaptured the village of Passchendaele but by then around a third of a million British and Allied soldiers had been killed or wounded.